How DeSantis is Making Trump Look More Electable  —  The FL Governor is running a race designed in a lab to strengthen Trump  —  The largest drivers of electoral outcomes are beyond anyone's control — the mood of the country, the state of the economy, world events, etc.

Biden Appeal Opens a New Front in Battle Over Internet Speech  —  The Biden administration's battle with Republican-led states over free-speech limits escalated with its appeal of a judge's sweeping order barring federal officials and agencies from communicating with social media companies over postings they deem objectionable.

A New Poll on the Trump Indictments Has a Surprising Result  —  A new POLITICO Magazine/Ipsos poll finds one thing that unites people on the Trump indictments.  —  Not much unites the country when it comes to Donald Trump.  And the public's reaction to the former president's two historic indictments …

Belarus leader claims Wagner chief is in Russia, adding uncertainty about his fate after revolt  —  The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his Wagner troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions …

The Mayor Had a Photo of a Fallen Officer.  Was His Story About It True?  —  Mayor Eric Adams has often talked about a wrinkled photo of a fallen police officer that he kept in his wallet.  Now that photo and the story have been called into question.  —  In Mayor Eric Adams's first month in office …

Former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says White House cocaine can't be Hunter Biden's  —  Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany eliminated Hunter Biden as a suspect in the Biden administration's cocaine bag scandal despite the president's son's well-documented history of drug use.

Trump aide Walt Nauta pleads not guilty in classified documents case  —  Hearing follows the unsealing of parts of the FBI search warrant for Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence last year  —  MIAMI — Donald Trump's personal aide Waltine “Walt” Nauta pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he schemed …

Bypassing Biden: Democrats Think of What Could Have Been  —  In Michigan, a governor with a powerful message seems ready for the next step, but an octogenarian president stands in her way.  —  MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — At the very moment last month that images of President Joe Biden falling …

Former U.S. officials have held secret Ukraine talks with prominent Russians  —  The aim of the discussions is to lay the groundwork for potential negotiations to end the war, people briefed on the talks tell NBC News.  —  LONDON — A group of former senior U.S. national security officials …

My Deeply Unsettling Return to the Moms for Liberty Conference  —  Beneath the “joyful warrior” cosplay was a startlingly dark agenda.  —  Last Friday morning, at the beginning of a hot June day in Philadelphia, I walked through a phalanx of about a hundred protesters in order …

Why a sudden surge of broken heat records is scaring scientists  —  Scientists say to brace for more extreme weather and probably a record-warm 2023 amid unprecedented temperatures  —  A remarkable spate of historic heat is hitting the planet, raising alarm over looming extreme weather dangers …

Trump posted what he said was Obama's address, prosecutors say.  An armed man was soon arrested there.  —  WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform what he claimed was the home address of former President Barack Obama on the same day that a man with guns …

How Tom Brady's Crypto Ambitions Collided With Reality  —  The superstar quarterback is among the celebrities dealing with the fallout from the crypto crash.  Others, like Taylor Swift, escaped.  —  Erin Griffith covers start-ups and venture capital, and David Yaffe-Bellany writes about the crypto industry.

Attorney who challenged Trump's 2020 loss gives up law license as states weigh disciplining him  —  Attorney Lin Wood, who filed legal challenges seeking to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, is relinquishing his law license, electing to retire from practicing rather than face possible disbarment.

Trump Co-Defendant Walt Nauta Finally Hires a South Florida Defense Lawyer Before Arraignment (Exclusive)  —  The ex-president's valet has hired Sasha Dadan, a 34-year-old Republican all-purpose criminal defense attorney  —  A Facebook icon representing an external link to share the article …

Justice Jackson's Incredible Statistic  —  Her dissent from the ruling on affirmative action makes an obviously implausible claim.  —  Even Supreme Court justices are known to be gullible.  In a dissent from last week's ruling against racial preferences in college admissions …

New York State Built Elon Musk a $1 Billion Factory.  ‘It Was a Bad Deal.’  —  New Tesla facility in Buffalo was supposed to house a huge solar-panel operation, but the project hasn't turned out as planned.  —  BUFFALO, N.Y.—New York spent nearly $1 billion over the past decade …

Australian minister calls Trump Jr a ‘big baby’ over cancelled tour  —  Australian Home Minister Clare O'Neil on Thursday called Donald Trump Jr. a “big baby”, after the son of the former U.S. president cancelled a planned speaking tour.  —  The younger Trump, who had been booked on a three …

Voter in Iowa questions Mike Pence about his actions on Jan. 6  —  During a campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa, former Vice President Mike Pence was confronted by a voter who was unhappy with his actions on January 6, 2021.  The voter asked Pence, “Do you ever second guess yourself,” adding …

A Radical Idea for Fixing Polarization  —  Can proportional representation save American democracy?  —  For most americans, voting for a member of Congress is one of their simplest civic duties.  Every two years, they pick the candidate they like best—usually the same one they chose last time …

Trump Begins to Sour on ‘Spotlight Hound’ Kari Lake for VP  —  Trump advisers say Kari Lake has been losing her footing with the former president because, in his eyes, she always wants attention.  —  When the annual Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll was taken this year …

Mike Pence would consider pardoning Trump if he's found guilty, wants to ‘clean house’ at DOJ  —  SIOUX CITY — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday it would only be appropriate to consider pardoning former President Donald Trump if Trump is found guilty of a crime.

He was the CIA whiz kid in 'Charlie Wilson's War.' His new book offers advice for the US in Ukraine  —  After the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in 1989, defeated by an insurgency equipped and guided by the U.S., a two-word cable arrived at CIA headquarters: “WE WON.”

AOC, Dan Crenshaw and the mellow struggle for psychedelic drug access  —  What do a democratic socialist, a Republican war veteran and a long-haired lobbyist from Montana have in common?  They want the government to relax about certain mind-altering substances.

Private sector companies added 497,000 jobs in June, more than double expectations, ADP says  — Private sector jobs surged by 497,000 in June, well ahead of the 267,000 gain in May and much better than the 220,000 estimate.  — Leisure and hospitality led with 232,000 new hires …

Tony Evers uses veto powers to extend annual increases for public schools for the next four centuries  —  Molly Beck Jessie OpoienMilwaukee Journal Sentinel  —  MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers, a former public school educator, used his broad partial veto authority this week to sign into law …

Under strict abortion law, Texas had nearly 10,000 more births than expected in last nine months of 2022, research suggests  —  A strict abortion law that took effect in Texas in 2021 may have led to nearly 10,000 more births than expected in the last nine months of 2022, according to research published in the journal JAMA.

7/6/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM  —  THE TOP … In an interview ahead of next week's NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, McConnell backed Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez's (D-N.J.) hold on the proposed sale of F-16s to Turkey.

A Hungarian Lesson on Student Loans  —  Friday's Supreme Court decision to throw out President Biden's $430 billion student-loan-forgiveness program pleased fiscal conservatives.  But the larger political—and social—question around student loans isn't going away.  To answer it, conservatives will need a plan.

Fake “liberal” Twitter account exposed: We should worry less about AI and more about human stupidity  —  “Erica Marsh” was obviously not real, but MAGA Twitter just can't quit their addiction to disinformation  —  The funniest aspect of the “Erica Marsh” story is how obvious …

U.S. Is Destroying the Last of Its Once-Vast Chemical Weapons Arsenal  —  Decades behind its initial schedule, the dangerous job of eliminating the world's only remaining declared stockpile of lethal chemical munitions will be completed as soon as Friday.  —  Dave Philipps reported from Pueblo, Colo., and John Ismay from Richmond, Ky.